Global flies the flag in Cebu at AFC President’s Cup
CEBU- Once again Azkals are coming to Cebu, but this time wearing a different jersey.
National team stalwarts Carlie De Murga, Jeffrey Christiaens, Misagh Bahadoran, Patrick Reichelt, Marwin Angeles, Marvin Angeles, Jason De Jong, Juani Guirado and Denis Wolf, return to Abellana Field for the 2013 Asian Football Confederation President's Cup qualifying stage here.
Last December they suited for the Azkals when the Philippines downed Singapore in a friendly on that ground.
The 2012 UFL League champs face Yeedzin from Bhutan, Dordoi Bishkek from Kyrgyzstan, and the gloriously named Khan Research Laboratories from Pakistan.
Global begins its campaign against the Bhutanese side on Wednesday, takes on KRL on Friday, and locks horns with Dordoi on Sunday.
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The last game is widely expected to be the toughest game for the home side. Dordoi features seventeen players from Kyrgyzstan's national team.
The competition is for clubs from Asia's emerging Football nations and can be considered the club version of the AFC Challenge Cup. The Philippines is in group B.
Twelve squads will play in three groups of four this week, with the top two from each group reaching the final stage that will be held from September 23 to 29. The host for the final stage will be chosen among one of the six finalists. Teams from Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, and Palestine are doing battle in the other two groups.
When Global plays in the UFL they typically feature several foreign players, but only two will see action this week per tournament rules.
That means the centerback duo of Carlos Tressor-Guisso and Val Kama will not see action, ditto for influential Japanese midfielder Yu Hoshide, Ivorian left back Delon Patrick Yao, and Turkish-German striker Koray Gundozoglu.
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Even Izo Elhabbib, the Sudanese-Saudi striker who is one of the most feared goalscorers in the league, has not been selected.
Global's Scottish coach Brian Reid has used up his allocation of foreigners on Polish-British midfielder Ben Starosta and goalie Moussa Sanogo, another Ivorian.
Starosta is a tall and rugged Englishman who was elegible to play in a Polish youth side because of a Polish grandfather. He has played for Sheffield United in England and will drop back to centerback from his usual center midfield role to partner with Guirado, who is planing in from Spain for these games.
Sanogo is an unknown quantity and his inclusion is a bit of a surprise for Global.
Global had recently acquired Ed Sacapano on loan from Army to back up the team's regular goalkeeper, yet another Ivorian, the outstanding Roland Dely Sadia. It was presumed by many that Sacapano would start in the President's Cup so that Reid could burn a foreigner slot on another player.
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That possibility was heightened when Sadia dislocated his shoulder making an acrobatic save against Kaya, forcing Sacapano to play in all of Global's games since then.
But the acquisition of Sanogo likely means Sacapano returns to the bench. It also means that the club's third-choice keeper, Cebuano Paolo Pascual, is unlikely to get a run-out in front of friends and family.
Sacapano won Man of The Match honors last December in Cebu when he turned away a penalty and pulled off two sensational flying saves on a pair for Singaporean free kicks to help seal a 1-0 win.
Global's homegrown stars Nino Ochotorena and Aaron Altiche could also see some action. Ochotorena's fellow Dipolognon, Jerry Barbaso, is a regular starter for Reid at right back.
Global boss Dan Palami could be concerned about his team's match fitness. Christiaens, Bahadoran, and Wolf are coming back from injury.
The games will be televised on ABS-CBN on a delayed telecast basis starting May 15.
POSSIBLE STARTING XI
Wolf Marwin
Reichelt DeJong DeMurga Bahadoran
Christiaens Starosta Guirado Barbaso
Sanogo
Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.
